HOUSTON — Six blocks will be closed in downtown Houston on Monday as crews work to repair broken glass following Thursday's storms.
There are still shards of glass all over the sidewalk and city leaders say you need to be careful and falling glass could be an issue, too.
During a news conference on Sunday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire talked about an “exclusion zone,” which will not be open. There is going to be no traffic allowed from Louisiana to Travis and McKinney to Polk. Workers will be in the area addressing blown-out windows as well as street and traffic light outages.
The mayor is urging people to avoid driving downtown at all if you can.
"I made the decision to lessen travel by asking city employees to stay home,” Whitmire said. “The business community is cooperating, closing some of their facilities, so together we're protecting that downtown footprint."
Municipal courts will also be closed today. All court operations are expected to resume Tuesday, including jury service.
When will things be back to normal? Because of the extent of the damage downtown, the mayor says it could take a week or more.
What you need to know about downtown Houston
- City asking everyone to minimize travel to the affected areas
- Street and traffic light outages persist
- There is an 'exclusion zone' downtown, meaning no traffic is allowed from Louisiana to Travis and McKinney to Polk.
- Workers will be addressing broken windows in the area. The city asks that you do not obstruct their work.
- Downtown remains dangerous because of flying glass
City services and city employees
- City services will continue
- Solid waste will begin picking up storm related debris and garbage. They ask that residents set the items out on the curb without obstructing the street.
- Municipal courts will not hold session. The city said that only 'tier one' employees are required to come in for magistrate needs.